Crystal Clarity Prompts
by Sergeant Plopp
Summary: These are prompts and side-stories related to the Blue Diamond momswap, Crystal Clarity. Most will originate from our Discord as prompts suggested there.
1. Chapter 1: Regrets

Regrets- This prompt comes from our Discord server, kmNpaaH, asking: What if Rose had met the Pregnant Blue Diamond?

* * *

"I sure am glad you talked me into coming back here, Blue. I'm happy you're able to see it," Greg told her, grabbing her hand. He led her out of the taxi, careful to mind her pregnant stomach.

She let out a groan as she stretched upwards. "Yes, well, I couldn't miss out on the chance to see the place that led us together."

Greg chuckled, bringing her to the nearest shop he could find. He went up to the shopkeeper, ignoring their incredulous stares at his wife. "Say, I know this is a stretch, but do you know if there's a mysterious pink lady in town? She's got a bunch of purple friends."

"Uh- oh yeah, they live on the far side of the beach, in front of that big lady statue."

"Oh, that's right! That's where she convinced me to not give up on my dream of becoming a famous musician," Greg explained. "Ah, it's all coming back to me."

Blue Diamond sighed. "I wish I had more pleasant memories of this planet."

Greg gave Blue a concerned glance when she wasn't looking, leading her out of the shop. They continued down the road at a reasonable pace, taking their leisurely time.

Blue Diamond seemed to be only focused on the road ahead of them and her baby. She was… close. Greg could tell. It had been about eight months. Any day now-

No. He couldn't think that way. Rather than moping, he would spend all the time he could with her. Greg could be sad all he wanted when she was gone, but for now everything was about happiness.

"Just around this cliff?" Blue queried, raising an eyebrow as they approached it. "An odd place for a dwelling. Below a cliff in a statue?"

"Well, the mysterious pink lady isn't a mysterious pink lady because she works a desk job in Empire City."

Blue laughed at this, and Greg felt his cheeks warm up. He adored those rare laughs.

"Even for a mysterious pink lady, this placement is not ideal. What would happen were there a flood? And-"

Blue stopped, Greg nearly walking into her. "What is it?"

The Diamond looked ahead, wide eyed. In front of them, leaning against a rock, was a purple being. "Is that an Amethyst?"

"Mhm. What's it to ya?" the gem cracked her eyes open, spying the pair. "Woah. Nice hair! And you, you're even bigger than- hey, who are you?!" she cried, leaping upward.

"I am Blue Diamond," she supplied, allowing herself a sad smile. "You're one of Pink's gems, are you not? I thought I had gathered you all," she recalled, grief and guilt striking her face.

Amethyst relaxed a little, still eyeing Greg and the Diamond carefully.

Greg glanced up at his wife. "She's one of Pink's gems? I… I think I recognize her. She's one of the pink woman's friends."

"Really? This Amethyst is one from the Kindergartens here on earth."

Amethyst unashamedly approached. "Hey, wait, what do you know about kindergartens?"

Blue Diamond forced a smile. "There can be time for explanations later. Would… you like to come back with us? I don't know how you got here, but my child could use extra protection. Pearl is not a fighter."

Amethyst began to back away slowly. "Pearl is a great fighter. I'm not sure I like where this is going."

Blue glared. "You-" she caught herself, feeling her child kick from within. "Do you happen to know a pink haired woman? We are only here to offer her thanks."

"I'm not so sure I should let you meet Rose…"

Greg's heart skipped a beat, his blood running cold. "Uh-oh."

"Rose?" Blue quietly asked, her voice sharing no trace of emotion. "Rose Quartz?"

Amethyst summoned her whip from her gem with a flash of light, backing away and preparing to use it if need be. "Yeah, that pretty much seals the deal, buddy. You may be a gem, but I got a feeling you're bad news."

"I-!" Blue Diamond exclaimed. Greg stroked her hand, sending soothing waves throughout her. "I am not bad news. Please allow me to see Rose Quartz. I'll give you one more chance."

"Or what?" Greg whispered. "You… you don't have to face this right now."

Blue glanced down at her bulging stomach before looking up at the Amethyst. "Yes I do. If I don't confront this now, I will never have another chance."

"A chance at what?!" Amethyst screamed. "You aren't alone over there! You're just coming off as even more creepy!"

Three gems rounded the corner of the cliff, staring down Amethyst. A strong voice cut the silence. "Who's creepy, Ame-" Rose Quartz said, her dark eyes going wide at the sight of Blue Diamond.

Garnet whimpered, exclaiming in fear. She shivered, standing behind Rose. The pearl by her side had a vice grip on her sword, her quaking knees betraying her fierce stare. "W-what are you doing here? Human, get away, she's-"

"I- I don't understand," Rose interrupted. "You're Blue Diamond."

She grasped her stomach softly, taking Greg's hand for support. "I am. Rose Quartz, I've come to talk."

"Talk?" Rose cried incredulously.

"I wish to… thank you," she said. Although not spiteful, it was hard to get the words out. "If you hadn't started a war for this planet, I would not have met Greg, or fallen in love," she said softly, her eyes traveling the warm sand.

"Your stomach…" Rose noticed. "Are you pregnant?!"

"I am. Soon I will be gone from this galaxy, so rejoice. It's the least I could do to repay my sins. I've come to realize our differences are personal, Rose Quartz. I had honestly never expected to see you ever again. I acknowledge that you had to," she choked, "shatter Pink in order to attain your freedom. I only wish I had realized the value of this planet sooner. That may sound selfish but it is the truth. I am sorry for all that were lost."

"Sorry doesn't begin to cover it!" Garnet growled. "Countless gems-"

"I KNOW!" Blue Diamond screamed, her hair flaring and tears falling freely. "I'll never be able to fully return my debts! But know this: you swayed a Diamond to your cause. I…"

"Blue?" Greg hoarsely asked. "The child?"

Her mind raced. "Please, begin the rebellion anew. I only ask that you take a peaceful approach."

"You've got a lot of nerve…" Pearl chided. "We tried that millennia ago, you- you- fool. If it had worked we wouldn't be here."

"When my child is old enough, and if they are willing, you are welcome to teach him your ways. Homeworld will listen to a Diamond."

"Then why don't you do it yourself?" Rose Quartz queried.

"I can't go on living, knowing what I've done…"


	2. Chapter 2: Court House

Zircon often thought about death and shards between sixteen and seventeen hours into the human day cycle. "Uh... no. I am afraid that's not the correct answer. It is - in fact - illegal to mine a gas giant for the purpose of extracting injector fluid components. It is much too dangerous," The lawyer was alternating between staring intently at the hologram of Venus the Pearl was projecting and drilling holes into the floor with her eyes. She shivered, remembering all the times that she had seen someone quite painfully dispersed for contradicting the absolute truth that whatever a Diamond said, was. If Zircon was remotely interested in imitating humanity, she would have been hyperventilating.

Steven slumped at his desk, facts, figures, bylaws, corner cases, and exceptions spinning through his mind in a confused mess. "What? They're really rich in the hard-to-get parts of injector fluid, right?"

She was spared for another day, then. Zircon straightened slightly, clearing her throat. "Yes, well, gas giants are highly combustible, thus making mining too dangerous. A single spark could light the entire planet aflame! That concludes the quiz, you're free to go. An… average performance, but your progress is impressive for a human," His eyes widened, and Zircon instinctively cringed. But her Diamond was thankfully still oblivious.

Steven nodded, stretching his arms as Pearl dismissed the projection. The time he spent in the back of the Palanquin with his tutors dragged on for hours, sucking most of the fun out of the day. Although Pearl's grandiose descriptions of Homeworld art and architecture were breathtaking, Holly Blue Agate's lessons about the abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and quirks of the thousands of Gem types, Zircon's droning law lectures, and Aquamarine's extended diatribes on the dull intricacies of Homeworld high society never failed to drive him up the wall. Steven knew they were necessary, at least in a vague sense. It just wasn't possible to be a proper Diamond without knowing all these things, even though his Court never actually told him what a Diamond did. They were always frustratingly vague about why his gem was so significant, to the point where Aquamarine had to lock up the datacrystals so that Steven wouldn't accidentally break them in his efforts at getting to the precious information within.

Speaking of, the tiny aristocratic Gem tutted from above, roosting on one of the Palanquin's decorative arches. "Ah, I'm afraid you have one more subject before you can go practice hydrokinesis with Lazuli," She smirked.

Zircon's eyes went wide and her form blurred around the edges for a half a second before settling. Rubbing circles in her palms with her thumbs, she attempted to calm herself. Despite the fact that they'd spent over a decade with the child of Blue Diamond, she couldn't help but be terrified whenever someone corrected him. For the first few years, she'd half expected it to all turn out to be some kind of elaborate loyalty test.

The former lawyer - or whatever passed for one in the sham that was the Diamond Authority's legal system - cleared her throat. "Y-yes, Aquamarine. You are correct. Steven still has his lessons with Agate. If I am not mistaken, he'll begin learning about the history of our great empire soon. I… I am sure you'll find it fascinating, my Steven," Zircon's projection began attracting condensation from all of the nervous heat it produced. She began to sweat. "The history of our species is very… interesting."

Steven sighed, flopping back into his seat. "Dangit. Today's my birthday, I gotta go have some fun before the sun sets! Aquuuuaaaa, you told me that I could skip history with Holly whenever I wanted to!"

"Not anymore, you won't," Aquamarine smirked. "Blue Diamond says that Greg was her equal. He, being your father, outranks you, from what I understand of human society. Zircon, I trust that I am correct?" Zircon nodded in affirmation. She was the only one that made an effort to learn about human society, mostly to alleviate her boredom. Unlike the others, she wasn't entertained by the constant sniping and mockery that plagued the Court whenever their Diamond was away. "As I was saying, we were specifically instructed not to let you get away with what we used to. It will make you spoiled. I, for one, welcome the change. You're far too soft for your own good."

Pearl glared up at the small floating gem, narrowing her eyes. Ever since the pompous little gremlin cottoned on to the fact that Steven, unlike the former Blue Diamond, wouldn't shatter her for the slightest breach in conduct, she began taking great amounts of schadenfreude in lording her power as the second-highest ranking Gem in the Court over the ignorant boy. Sadly, Pearl never got enough alone time to practice summoning her sword… thingy to learn how to properly skewer the brat like a miniature hot dog for her impertinence.

Zircon quickly mumbled her goodbyes, hurrying out of the "classroom" in the hopes of getting out of her Diamond's blast radius before he inevitably threw a tantrum over what he was about to learn. On her way out, Zircon crashed directly into the towering Holly Blue Agate. The quartz sneered down at the paralyzed Zircon and brusquely shoved her out of the way before ducking under the doorframe to the room.

As soon as Holly entered her smirk was replaced by a nervous false smile. She immediately saluted despite Steven's protestations and shoved her hands behind her back, maintaining a perfect posture. "My Diamond."

"It's Steven. Diamond is my mother's name," he joked.

Holly Blue took no chances. "A-ah, yes, yes. My mistake, once again, my- Steven. Are you ready for your lesson today?" she asked, her face a horrible rictus failing miserably in a misguided attempt to mimic a smile.

"I think so. Why are you nervous?" Steven asked carefully, pursing his lips. Holly was always on the edge of a breakdown around him, sometimes even moreso than Zircon, but he felt there was something… off.

Aquamarine's eyes went wide. She glanced down at Pearl, whose slight frown confirmed her fears. Today was the day.

The Agate nervously clapped her hands, and Pearl left Steven's side, walking up the thick sheet hanging from the second floor that served as a projector screen. Holly gulped, turning away from Steven. "Begin the message, if you would."

Without barely any hesitation, an image was projected from Pearl's gem onto the sheet. A pregnant Blue Diamond sat in a recliner, her drooping expression turning joyous as the recording began.

Tears welled in Steven's eyes as he heard his mother's voice for the first time. Every Gem in the room followed as a result of his power, but they managed to not collapse and burst into sobs. Thousands of years in Blue Diamond's court had hardened their gems to her… outbursts.

"My Steven…" she began. Her expression radiated melancholy. "You do not know how much I desire to meet you. But, as we both know, that… isn't possible. Please, do not grieve for me. I am not worthy of your tears."

"What?" Steven muttered.

"That is why I made this recording. If Pearl, Zircon, Lapis Lazuli, Holly Blue Agate, and Aquamarine have followed my instructions, you've had a carefree childhood. But… now is the day you turn fourteen. You should be mature enough now to… to not do anything rash upon hearing this. Now you are ready to hear the truth," she said, her eyes distant, tears streaming down her face.

After a few moments, Blue Diamond regained her composure. She wiped away her tears, sniffling. "I am Blue Diamond, just as you are. I am one of the three rulers of Homeworld. A comparable term for such an existence would be… an empress or… a dictator."

Steven's eyes widened as the lies, omissions, and half-truths his life was built on disintegrated all at once. "W-"

"I deeply regret all of my actions taken during my time ruling. Son, the way Homeworld does things is wrong. I couldn't live with myself. I couldn't possibly fix it," her expression grew grim. "I'm sorry for placing such a hefty responsibility on your shoulders, but you are the only hope they have for change. You are an opportunity so many Gems desperately need for a new era without tyranny. Earth's way of doing things is not perfect, but it is much better than the current system of oppression on Homeworld. I… understand if you do not wish for such a responsibility, which is why I'm offering you a choice. Your guardians will teach you all you need to know if you wish to follow that path. If not, you may continue living as you do, as a human, free of all the burdens and responsibilities that I have left you," By this point, tears were freely spilling from Blue Diamond's eyes. Her lip quivered. "I understand if you make that choice. I'm sorry I'm so selfish. I'm sorry I'm so afraid of responsibility. I'm so-" she choked down a sob. "I love you, my son…"

The projection ended, and Pearl's gemlight faded.

Steven was completely silent in his chair, his mind racing as Blue Diamond's words and the choice she offered to him reverberated through his mind. Holly Blue and Aquamarine were also stock still, their minds likewise struggling to comprehend Blue Diamond's utter condemnation of the Diamond Authority. Their wise, perfect, former leader who could do no wrong had just informed them the society she had helped to make - in their eyes - perfect was, in fact, broken. Steven stood up, closely followed by Pearl, and threw the curtains aside as he barreled out of the Palanquin.

"I-" Holly Blue muttered. "Is that true? Is our government worse than humanity's?"

Aquamarine floated to the floor, hugging herself tight. "It must be, you pebble! Blue Diamond has never led us astray before. She is - she was - our leader. She's perfect! She has to be right. She has to," she reassured herself.

"You're right," Holly Blue said with a wavering smirk, attempting to convince herself. It had to be true. "Oh, only fitting that our Diamond was the one to come to such a brilliant conclusion. Consider it this way, our government is not flawed, I'm sure Blue Diamond merely meant that it can be improved!"

Aquamarine scoffed.

OxOxO

Hydrokinesis was not an art. It was a science. That was one of the truths that most Lazulis failed to absorb during basic training. Oh, how they fluttered about, waxing poetic about the beauty of oceans, how marvelous water was. And while Laz, as Steven had dubbed her, admitted that she had a certain aesthetic appreciation for her field, there was one key, unavoidable fact about the science of hydrokinesis: the techniques used to manipulate water depended on complex psychic principles, each of which could be fine-tuned, combined, and experimented upon to produce incrementally, consistently better results. It was an objective task, and therefore, unlike the subjective practice of art, was a science. For example, while raw force could move water well enough, a much smaller amount of psychic energy, less than one percent of what most Lapis Lazulis carelessly expended while terraforming, when properly leveraged, distributed, utilized, controlled, and manipulated, could provide roughly the same amount of power while having a much finer degree of control. With enough practice, the bodily memorization routines used to access certain techniques could be disposed of entirely.

Laz knew this better than anybody.

The ambient temperature around the lake was a somewhat chilly 64.93 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18.29 degrees Celsius, to go by common human measures. Laz's lips turned down slightly. The conditions were less than optimal for teaching Basic Scouring Form 2C, if only by a small margin. Laz manipulated the trace molecules of water in the nearby atmosphere to vibrate slightly faster, the temperature increasing almost unnoticeably to 65.57 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18.65 degrees Celsius. A ghost of a smile flickered across her face, almost reaching her one unhidden eye. Much better.

The next part of her lesson preparation was almost a trivial matter. The currents of the lake twisted and turned, funneling the local organic population into the center of the lake, and a globe of water containing every macroscopic organism in the lake rose up out of the surface. After a rather unfortunate incident that had taken place while demonstrating basic mass water movement techniques, Laz always removed all organisms large enough for Steven to care about from the lake before beginning at her Diamond's request.

In all, the whole process had taken 9.62 seconds, and the surface of the lake hadn't so much as twitched. Neither had Laz. She almost seemed like a statue, back ramrod straight, hands clasped behind her back, weapon disguised as a headband firmly affixed over her right eye. Only her hair swaying in the gentle breeze betrayed any sign of life.

As she finished carefully weakening the wood of the nearby pine trees with a series of rapidly rotating rings of water so that Steven's practice on eroding organic material without damaging the nearby environment could progress more quickly, the pounding of feet and rapid breathing reached Laz's ears. She immediately fell into more human mannerisms, imitating breathing and twitching slightly in some places. Laz tended to… unsettle her Diamond whenever he caught her "unnaturally" still, like she normally was. How she preferred to instead use a near-invisible coating of water to float instead of walk may also contribute to that impression, Laz mused.

She turned around to face Steven and intercepted his tear-stained charge with a "hug.". As she patted him on the back and catalogued another instance of irrational feelings of concern and something else "warm and fuzzy" that she couldn't quite place, Laz cross-referenced Steven's distraught state with the current date and couldn't resist wincing.

"It was- it was horrible," Steven sobbed, clutching Laz's slim frame tightly. "I'm, I don't even… I'm supposed to change Homeworld?! She was a dictator?!"

She frowned. "I'm… honestly, I'm not quite sure that Blue Diamond was exactly… stable at that time in her life, my Steven. Perhaps it would be best for you to-"

Steven stumbled away from the embrace, taken aback. "What do you mean? I thought of all people, you'd be on board with change! You're the one that's always resentful about something on Homeworld, something's making you really angry about what's happening there, and, and you knew my mom the least, and you're always badmouthing her in your head!" He immediately clapped his hands over his mouth.

Laz's eye widened, and the perfectly calm orb of water containing approximately the annual yield of an average coastal fishing town wavered for half a moment before stabilizing. "Those were... private internal… ruminations! How long have you had this ability?" she said, trying to take advantage of his short attention span. She had ideas that he knew more than he let on, but this was… an interesting development.

"For a while… Before you ask, only Pearl knows. And I don't read minds, I read feelings. I don't know what you thought about my mom, I know how you feel about her when she's brought up."

The servant nodded in agreement in the periphery of Laz's vision, giving her another start. Laz had never gotten used to the Pearl's uncanny capability to show up and leave completely unannounced. She resisted the urge to scowl. Then again, she was the only Gem in the Court with such a large, easily exploitable blind spot. Laz also tried to ignore how a large part of her resentment towards it bloomed from jealousy from the Pearl's close relationship with Steven. The boy's presence was… oddly intoxicating. Relaxing, even, enough so that Laz's callous, mistrustful instincts, cultivated over eons of always being a hair's breadth away from shattering, softened around him. Caring was a weakness in the Diamond Authority, but for whatever reason, Laz tended to forget about that whenever Steven was around.

Laz pulled herself from her inner reverie. Of course, part of the reason why forgetting about the harsh realities of Homeworld was so easy around Steven was that the boy was just so damn naive. Perhaps another dose of truth would do him good. "No, it's how she behaved after the the war for Earth I disagree with. Forgive me for my impertinence, my Steven, but as long as the truth is coming out today, I may as well reveal to you some of the more glaring flaws in your mother's character. She neglected her duties, she was slothful, too stuck in the past to care about the future," Pearl balled her fists tight as Laz counted off Blue Diamond's many, many sins on her fingers.

"Disregarding how I personally feel that the caste-based authoritarian government of the Diamond Authority is perfectly functional, if not without flaws," Laz continued, heedless of Pearl's growing wrath, "if Blue Diamond truly cared about any of that she could've easily begun changing it herself instead of moping around. She was simply trying to alleviate her guilt about thrusting all of her responsibilities upon you by claiming that she held the same views on Homeworld that you'd inevitably have by the virtue of being the progeny of one of the most selfless men on Earth, at least in her opinion, and by being raised away from the Diamond Authority." At Steven's growing shock, Laz shook her head, resting her brow in her fingers and sighing. "You're… just too young, too green to understand w- augh!"

In the space of less than a third of a second, quite a few things happened at once.

Pearl's fist, blurring with speed, caught Laz directly on the chin. As a consequence of the force transferred from Pearl's weapon of choice (a straight jab) to the object of her rage (a very, very insubordinate Lapis Lazuli), Laz's head jerked back, and her headband came undone, snapping into a long blade and revealing an eye of pure gold, unbroken by any iris or pupil. A combination of shock and terror caused Laz to lose her footing, falling onto the mirror-like surface of the lake, which perfectly supported her. And, in a way that would be comical if not for the gravity of the current situation, Laz's concentration slipped and the orb of water containing all of the aquatic life in the lake fell apart. Fish rained down on the three Gems as they were drenched by the released water.

For almost a quarter minute, all was still. Pearl was staring at her own hand, as perplexed by her own actions as Steven, whose gaze darted between Pearl and Laz's eye. For her part, Laz sprinted through the five stages of grief in a matter of seconds: denial. There was no possible way that a Pearl of all Gems could be her downfall. Anger. She should shatter it for its disobedience, and bring down the entire Palanquin for allowing the Pearl to grow so independent. Bargaining. Perhaps if Laz spared its life, her Diamond would spare hers, and they would never speak of this unfortunate incident again. Depression. This would be where she would die. Acceptance. Really, Laz should've been shattered the moment she emerged. Her death was long overdue.

Hands trembling despite her best efforts to conceal it, Laz unbuttoned the human made windbreaker he had given her and tossed it to the side, revealing a simple military design underneath, quite similar to a long sleeved version of the uniforms most quartzes wore. With a flash of white light, the sleeves to the shoulder and legs under the knee were gone. Swirls of gold covered her arms and legs alongside her natural blue, and she pulled down the v-neck of her uniform to reveal her gem, a geometric, gaudy thing, half cobalt teardrop and half golden angular abomination. With as much dignity she should muster, Laz strode towards her Diamond and fell to her knees.

Looking Steven directly in the eyes, Lapis "Laz" Lazuli, genius, visionary, monstrosity, and off-color, whispered, "Just do it already."

"I'm… sorry," Pearl said. "I-"

Laz gritted her teeth. "S-Silence, pebble," she growled hoarsely. Try as she might to push them down, shining golden tears intermingled with clear ones as they fell down her face and onto the ground.

Steven's instincts took over, and he knelt down, gently placing his hand on Laz's shoulder. "Are you okay? Laz, what's going on?" he asked. He winced at the waves of self-loathing coming off of what he had come to think as a big sister.

Laz flinched at Steven's touch, and let out a half-laugh, half-sob. "Oh, Steven. Of course you don't know," She took his hand and guided it down to her gem. "Sh… Just… Shatter me. My gem is frail, it should be easy," Laz gulped. "This… I am afraid you will have to do this many times, my Steven, if you are to be a true Diamond. Just… grant me one request. Dust my remains. I want no half-death."

Steven's eyes widened, and he balked. "W-what?"

"Her gem is impure," Pearl explained. "These mutations are due to abnormal amounts of pyrite deposits in her gem. Lapis should've been shattered and her minerals separated and re-implanted as soon as she emerged, as the impurity of her gem would - should - have prevented her from performing her purpose in any meaningful way."

"So? We aren't on Homeworld, and that shouldn't even matter, and, and, Laz is super powerful anyways and stuff!" Steven's own tears streamed down his face as he shouted. "And… Gold is a cool color, too, and... I… I expected more from you, Pearl."

"I… I only meant to…" The quiet, unobtrusive Gem hung her head in shame, and somehow managed to fade into the background even more.

Laz shook her head. "My Steven, you don't understand. If you don't do this, Holly Blue Agate or," she shuddered, "Aquamarine will do it for you. You must be strong. If it's any consolation…" Laz forced herself to smile, her teeth glimmering in the sunlight. "It was an honor serving you, my Diamond."

"No no no NO!" Steven roared. A pulse of deep blue swept over the surrounding area, drenching everything in sorrow and anger. "I. Won't. Let them!" He pulled Laz to her feet, determination glowing in his eyes. "Laz, I… I won't let them. They'll listen to me, I promise. Th… They'd eat dirt if I told them to!"

Her train of thought screeched to a grinding halt. It was impossible. Something like her shouldn't be allowed to live, not when revealing her true form in front of her Diamond. Her remains should've already be dust in Steven's hands.

Steven's hands.

This was Steven. Not Blue Diamond. And this was Earth, not Homeworld. For the first time, Laz understood what the Crystal Gems had been fighting for. Someplace where cowards unwilling to shatter themselves for their shame could live without fear of shattering. Laz let out a shaky laugh, wiping away some of her tears. "O-of course you don't care…"

Steven scowled, a volatile mix of anger and pity roiling in the pit of his stomach. "Laz, I don't even understand why this would even matter! You're amazing and unique and beautiful like this!" He shook his head vehemently. "Lapis, this is proof that… I need to change things! I need to make things safe for Gems like you, so you won't have to hide like this!"

"The system works, my Steven," Lapis muttered, hoarse. "The only reason why I could imitate a true Lapis Lazuli is that I'm smart, smarter than I should be. If any other Gem had this happen to her, she'd hardly be able to move a glass of water. She'd be useless, she wouldn't be able to accomplish her purpose. Her life would be pointless."

Steven scoffed. "Laz, a-are you blind?" he asked, voice thick with wrath. "Because of that system, unique Gems with unique talents like yours are… are..." He couldn't bring himself to say it. "Everybody has a right to live, Laz. Homeworld can't take that away just because you're different!"

Laz mulled over it for a few seconds, then said, "For every Gem a purpose, for every purpose a Gem. I fulfill my purpose, and I am glad that is good enough for you. But other Gems like me can't, Steven, don't you understand that? Homeworld would collapse if we had Gems running around doing nothing, or doing things they weren't meant for."

Steven sighed. "That's not right, not at all."

OxOxO

Steven had stayed with Laz for a time, arguing with her in circles about the merits of monsters like her before giving and just sitting with her, watching the sunset. She'd of course spent most of it sobbing, especially after the boy left. Growing still after her tears had been used, Laz first fetched her bladescarf from the sand, carefully fitting it over her right eye once more. Her jacket, covered in a thin film of water, flew towards her, and with shaking hands she zipped it up. Washing away the dirt from her crisp trousers and functional, if drab boots, Laz clasped her hands behind her back and floated back towards the Palanquin.

Brushing aside the Palanquin's curtain, Laz arrived in the foyer to see exactly what she expected: Zircon, Holly Blue Agate, and Aquamarine arguing ferociously while Pearl blended into the background.

"And I said-" Aquamarine whirled to see Laz hover into the room. "Lazuli. Punctual as always, I see."

"We were just discussing you," Holly Blue said. "You've not seen the recording yet."

Lapis shot a glare at Pearl, and replied, "I know enough."

"Yes, well, it's quite difficult to just accept, as, ah I'm sure you've already concluded yourself," Zircon said, pacing back and forth. "I'm just as shaken, if not more so, than our young charge. I mean… it is simply absurd!" she exploded, then coughed sheepishly at the others stares. "I mean, our Diamond, I mean, our former Diamond agreeing with the rebels who… who shattered… who shattered her sister? It's impossible!"

"No, our Diamond isn't - wasn't - saying that," Holly Blue said. "Of course not! That would be ridiculous!" She chuckled nervously, the hundreds of defective quartzes she'd lorded over flashing across her vision. "She didn't say it was inherently wrong. Just that it could be… improved, a little bit."

Aquamarine rolled her eyes. "Oh, could you idiots stop beating around the bush already, as the humans so delicately put it? Our Diamond is a seditious, traitorous heretic," the others, even Laz, gasped in shock, "but she is - was - our Diamond," she was quick to add. "We are not some rabble bowing down to the Diamond Authority as a vague concept. We are loyal to our Diamond, and our Diamond only. And if she said that she had come around to think that Homeworld needs to be fixed, well, I suppose we must take her at her word."

Laz narrowed her eyes at Aquamarine, trying to decipher whatever plan the little blue goblin was cooking up. It was completely unlike her to so quickly acquiesce to orders, especially that which could potentially threaten her own position. Laz would have to keep an eye on her. Or both eyes, depending on how Steven felt like dealing with her… predicament.

"Yes," Pearl whispered. All heads in the room swiveled in her direction, eyebrows raised. "It is my understanding that our Diamond came to forgive Rose Quartz. She saw her rebellion as… as… she saw the philosophy that the Crystal Gems espoused as ultimately more sustainable than Homeworld's. If Rose Quartz were still alive, she would be among us…" she reported through grit teeth. "Blue Diamond only wished that she had… come to this conclusion before Pink Diamond..." Pearl left the rest of that sentence unsaid.

"Pearl…" Holly Blue began, fists clenched. Pearl flinched. "I trust that you know better than to lie to your superiors, servant," She sneered. "So either you've gone cracked or you're saying that our Diamond trusted something like you to hold her greatest secret," The quartz's hand inched towards her gem. "I am inclined to believe the former."

Aquamarine was just as perplexed, drilling into Pearl with her eyes. "Yes, why would she tell you of all Gems?"

Pearl trembled, unable to take her eyes off of Holly Blue Agate. "You were not here until months before Steven was born… The nature of our relationship changed very much in the years she was disappeared. She entrusted me with much, and even offered me freedom."

"You're lying," Aquamarine accused.

Laz was inclined to let the two fools give Pearl the lashing she deserved, but if Steven caught wind of it, that might be what would break the poor boy. And her Diamond would need to be strong in the days to come. She spoke up, saying, "What reason does she have for doing so? She has nothing to gain but hard questioning and heavyhanded, unsophisticated torture from you two unthinking imbeciles."

Aquamarine glared, reaching for her bow, but her wings warped and wrapped the small Gem in a cocoon of water, leaving only her head free. "Stop it! Lower me, now! I'm ordering you!" she screeched.

Laz allowed herself a small smirk. "Very well, your Clarity," she said, voice layered with sarcasm. The water around Aquamarine froze in an instant, and with a small yelp, the arrogant aristocrat dropped to the floor, the ice entrapping her breaking into hundreds of pieces.

Holly Blue groaned. "I swear, you two, one day our Diamond will grow wise enough to shatter the both of you for you mouths. We are allies!" She whirled on Aquamarine, who was waddling around and collecting ice in a desperate attempt to reform her wings. Using the tone of voice that was perfect for putting impertinent Earth quartzes into place, Holly said, "Just because you have some fancy toy, it doesn't mean you're any more important than the rest of us!" She then turned to Laz with an imperious sneer that quickly faded when she saw the one-eyed Gem's glower.

"What am I supposed to do without my wand?!" Aquamarine cried. "I'm an Era Two Gem. I've no powers!"

"Yes, but that doesn't excuse your poor behavior!" Holly Blue continued. "It is imperative that we all cooperate for the sake of our Diamond. We must stop always being at each others' gems like this! What are we, amethysts?" The others gasped in horror at the mere thought.

Zircon cleared her throat. "Ah, for once, I concur with Agate. Not only must we present a united front, but according to Greg, this kind of infighting from his guardians harms Steven's mental health."

Holly Blue nodded. "At least you're listening to sense, Zircon," She stiffened her posture and stared daggers at all the other Gems. "Remember, I commanded Pink Diamond's Zoo for thousands of years. I have the most leadership experience out of anyone here!"

"Oh, so you're saying we should listen to you because you babysat a few quartzes on a backwater station with no strategic importance that our Diamond only kept around because it was Pink's," Lapis Lazuli dryly interjected. "Don't act so high and mighty, Agate. Have you perhaps considered that the reason we all ignore your ravings is because you drop to your stomach and lick Steven's boots every time he comes into the room? Sometimes I wonder if you'd fuse with Pearl over there if he asked for it with how little dignity you have," Somewhere in the back of her mind, Laz realized that she was simply taking out her frustrations on Holly Blue. "He could order you to create a functioning digestive system just so you would eat dirt," But then again, the Gem undeniably deserved it. "Would you space yourself in the general direction of a star if he told you to?"

Holly Blue Agate sputtered. "What nerve! I-"

"Stop it, the both of you!" Zircon cried. "What were you just saying, Holly Blue? We must keep our wits about us. We've each got a different job to perform, and we can't risk having to dust somebody's shards because one of you hotheads got your egos bruised. This operation is incredibly sensitive. There's no replacing any of us!"

Steven waltzed into the foyer from his bedroom in lime green pajamas, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on? What's all the shouting?" he yawned. "Did I hear glass breaking? I really hope it wasn't the vase we got in Aqua Mexico."

They all shot each other icy glares. Aquamarine stood up, waddling over to him. "Nothing of the sort. It was just ice, My Steven. Let's get you back to bed…" Steven willingly followed, but Laz noticed his eyes were awfully bright for just getting out of bed. Her lips twitched upwards, internally applauding the boy's ingenuity in keeping his court together. Perhaps he would make a fine Diamond after all.

Then again, Laz thought as Holly Blue sulked in the corner, Zircon ignored everybody in favor of twiddling around on the human internet, and Pearl and Aquamarine exchanged heated glares when they thought Steven wasn't looking, it would be a wonder if the Court survived long enough for Steven to grow into his own.

* * *

Hello! Sorry for the long wait, but I hope it's was worth it! Come talk to us about this on our discord, kmNpaaH!


	3. Chapter 3: Hope

Hope raced ahead quickly through the tall grass, eager and more than happy to play. She glanced back at her brother, who seemed to be less than enthused. "What's wrong, Steven? Try and catch me! Come on!"

"Nothing!" he lied, trotting to keep up with her. To his chagrin, she was walking backwards, flaunting her gem to all.

He couldn't stand it, always having to live within the dimly lit confines of her shadow. Only because she had been born with their mother's gemstone was she so special, so carefree, so favored by Pearl and their father.

Steven resented that, he hated it. The magical destiny should've gone to both of them, to neither of them, or just him. It wasn't fair. She didn't understand how important it was to be her. He was sure that given the chance, he'd make more use of the Blue Diamond gemstone than she ever would. But he'd never have that chance and it tore him apart.

"Today seems different," his sister said.

Hope reached the edge of the field, a sheer cliff overhanging pointy rocks. A fall from such a height would kill any human, without the spikes at the bottom. All it would take would be a small push and Hope would-

Steven shook his head, derailing his runaway train of thought and feeling very ashamed of himself. No matter his resentment, killing his sister wouldn't solve any of his problems.

Still, his hand raised almost as soon as she turned her back to him.

"Am I right? The sunset seems more… sad today."

He shrugged despite her lack of vision toward him. "I don't know what you mean."

"It's almost never Pink like this. It gives me a feeling of familiarity toward someone, but I don't know who it is."

"I still don't know what you're talking about," he said. Steven always had trouble looking at the fine print.

"That's too bad."

He stepped toward her with his hand raised.

"I- guh!"

While turning around, Hope's footing had crumbled beneath her. The edge of the cliff eroded away, the girl tumbling over the edge. Her screaming was cut short after a short few seconds.

Steven's jaw dropped as he stared at the clouds. But… he didn't feel anything but relief. Not relief that she had died, but relieved he hadn't had to do it himself.

Just as he was about to hurl or bawl, his sister's relieved voice echoed from below.

"What a close one!" she cried. "Steven, are you okaaaaaaay?!"

Steven balled his fists, glaring at the grass beneath his feet. It wasn't fair.

Mrs. Do-no-wrong was even favored by fate.

Hope inspired him with the opposite.


	4. Chapter 4: Do-over

There was no reason she should be feeling this nervous, not by any of her reasoning. She was a Diamond, a leader, one who had captured the attention of thousands on the regular. Blue Diamond had no idea why she found it so difficult to speak to a single person.

Greg looked at her with concern etched in his kind face. "Hey, is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing is wrong," she assured him, turning away from him. Maybe it would be easier if he couldn't see her.

"...You sure?"

"Yes," Blue Diamond told him. "I've been contemplating some of the most recent things you've taught me."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "I know the history of Orange Magic Orchestra is pretty complicated, but-"

"About children," she interrupted. He would just drag things on if she allowed it. "I think… that like to have another," Blue said, staring up toward the most familiar celestial body to her. Homeworld. Relief immediately washed over her like a warm rainstorm.

"Oh," he mumbled. Greg's eyes went wide, and he nervously fumbled with his fingers. Oh, how he wished he had his guitar to idly strum upon. Something clicked in his mind as he mulled her words and came to realize what she had spoken to him. "Wait, another?"

"Is that a problem?" she asked, thankful she had no lungs. Blue had observed the pauses in breathing humans took while anxious, and was certain she'd have passed out from oxygen loss long ago.

"No, I- not at all," he told her, entirely befuddled. "Do you want to talk about it?" Greg could surmise that something had happened to this past child. She had never claimed he was the first human she had a relationship with, and it was entirely possible the result of an old fling had crumbled away under the coarse sands of time.

Even before she had begun to talk, the tears began to flow. "Yes," One of the magical things she had discovered on earth was how relieving it felt to release bottled up feelings. "I haven't told you much about Pink Diamond, have I?"

He ran a hand through his thick hair. "Just that she passed away. It's how I met you."

"She was shattered because I pushed her too far," Blue said, her face becoming much too similar to the ghostly one he had found her with. "I let her carry a burden much too heavy for her to bear, and she was broken under it."

"I always hear that parents should push their children to leave the nest or else they'll never learn to fly."

"No," she said sharply. "There is a difference between that and what I have done. I shouldn't have held her to mine or Yellow's standards. She… wasn't like us. I should have realized that before it was too late, but I didn't. My folly cost me my… daughter," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. But she did not sob, nor wail. Her silent tears only added to her haunting air.

Greg smiled and gripped her hand, saying the only thing he could muster while processing this new information about his alien queen girlfriend. "Well, it's like you said. You get another chance."

Blue diamond let out a small chuckle. "Mister Universe, your near endless optimism never ceases to impress me."

"I can't imagine what you're going through, but you're not alone. If we have a kid, I intend to be there right with you."

"Yes. If I find another way to make such a colossal mistake, the child will have you."

"I… don't think it was your fault. I'm sure Pink realized you were only pushing her for her own good. If she was still here, I'm sure she wouldn't be mad at you," the uninformed man said.

"I deeply hope someday I can accept that as well."

"Me too, Blue," he sighed, looking into her spectral eyes. "Me too."

* * *

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